Sorry. I'll just leave it at that.
Chapter 9: Issues
Alice's POV
I was so bored. I'd been in this stinking room for a little less than twenty-four hours, but I was already nearly out of my mind. I'd tried talking to my guards, but that ship sunk when Jane took over for Alec. She was in a foul mood, and when I tried talking to her she unleashed her power on me. On the bright side, that seemed to improve her mood minimally.
I'd avoided looking at Jazz's future since I'd woken up earlier, but worry was eating at me. Maybe he'd decided on something new... Or maybe his future had changed now that I'd spoken with Aro... I shook my head, banishing my thoughts to a distant corner of my mind.
Celia... I'd been traveling with Chris' dead sister. The Volturi hadn't killed her. That, coupled with the delight Aro had at seeing her probably meant she had a very powerful ability of some kind.
My family needed to know. But I had no way to tell them... I started thinking.
...And thinking had still gotten me nowhere an hour later. Except to the conclusion that the Volturi should really hire a stylist. Jane's dress was terrible. I don't care if she had been changed when she was a preteen or at the beginning of her teen years. That was a terrible excuse to wear the dress she was wearing. She looked like a five-year-old. From the 1800's, which was even worse.
I would have told her so if she'd been anyone else. But she wasn't. I sighed.
I was nearly giddy when the door opened to reveal Demetri. He nodded at Jane, who brushed passed him without a word.
When she closed the door, I grinned. "Thank goodness you came. I was on the verge of doing something extreme. That girl is boring."
He smiled slightly. "I apologize."
I leaned forward slightly in my chair. "So tell me about Celia. How long has she been here?"
"Why are you interested?"
"Well, I'm a curious person. But I generally don't have to ask questions since I can see the future," I said, grinning.
"I see."
"So...?" I prodded.
"She's been with us for fifty years. Nineteen years after that confrontation with your family about your half-vampire."
"Did one of the Volturi change her?" I asked.
"No. Aro discovered her when she had been a vampire two years. He sent Jane and Alec to collect her. There was some mix-up with a human––he had been her brother and he wasn't willing to let her go. So Alec and Jane convinced her to fake her own death."
"Why did Aro want her?"
"She had a gift. Why else?"
"Of course."
"What was it, an incredible shield? The ability to kill with a glance?"
"No. She is a reflector. If someone tries to use their gifts on her, she flips it around and uses it on them. But it's completely voluntary. It doesn't work if she doesn't will it to."
My foot froze; I had been tracing designs on the stones. "What about abilities that are more general. Ones that are just there. Like, say, mine?"
"No."
"Even if I looked into her future specifically?"
"If it's not affecting her physically, mentally, or emotionally, or something that affects her ability, she doesn't reflect it."
"So what about Edward's?"
"I don't know. I wouldn't imagine so."
"Bella's?"
He sighed. "I doubt it."
So do I, I thought silently. If Aro thought it would work against Bella's he'd have come for us way sooner. Well, that was something. But even so, her ability worried me.
"Why is Aro coming after my family now?" I asked after a moment.
"Only Aro knows."
I frowned. "Demetri, why are you telling me all this?"
He didn't answer. He probably didn't want to say it.
"Ah," I said quietly. "I see."
"I'm sorry, Alice," he apologized.
I shrugged. "It's not your fault."
"Why don't you accept his offer?"
"Aro and I don't see eye to eye. And after that confrontation over Renesmee, I'm afraid I'm determined to do everything I can to tick him off."
He smiled a bit. "Like calling him names?"
"Exactly."
"It might serve your family better if you did join."
"It wouldn't. He would make me use my ability for his gain. And eventually he'd make me use it against them. He's a greedy, malicious bastard."
"And you are a troublesome vixen who should be more open to your options."
I smiled angelically. "I try."
He chuckled.
The door opened; it was Chelsea. "Aro wishes to see you, Demetri."
"Of course. Watch her for me?"
Chelsea didn't speak, but she took his position by the door. Demetri slipped out, closing the door behind him without a sound.
"I know why you're in here," I told her after we'd been in silence for a good while.
"Do you."
"Mhm. You're trying to strengthen any relational ties between me and Aro. I'm afraid it won't work. I still think he should burn in Hell."
She didn't answer.
It was true; she had come to weaken my resistance to Aro's offer. But unlike I wished, I wasn't sure she wouldn't succeed. I knew nothing she could try would make me love any of my family less, but unless I developed some surprising resistance to her ability, I'd cave to Aro sooner than I planned to.
The thought scared me.
Celia's POV
"How's Alice?" I asked Demetri as he stepped out of her room.
"Asking lots of questions about you."
I frowned. "Why?"
"Your guess is as good as mine, love."
"Hmm."
"What does Aro want me for, do you know?"
"I think he's sending us back to get another one of these Cullens. I'm sure he has a particular one in mind."
"I guess we'll see soon enough."
Demetri held the door for me when we reached Aro's chambers. Alec was already inside, as was Aro.
"There you lovebirds are," Aro said.
"What did you want us for, Master?" Demetri asked politely.
"You're going back to get another of the Olympic coven." He smiled. "This time, I want Edward Cullen. He's a mind reader; he can read minds at a distance. Prepare for that."
He looked directly at me. "Celia, I do not know if your ability will work against him. Try, but be careful. And all of you," he returned to addressing all of us, "Do not let him get away. And be very careful to not think of anything that he could find useful when you are near him, in case you do fail."
"Yes, Master," we said.
"You are dismissed."
Edward's POV - Two days later
I looked over at Esme; she was sucking a deer dry, very careful not to get dirty.
She had insisted I hunt with her, claiming she needed my mind reading in case the Volturi returned. I knew she was trying to distract me––I hadn't been myself since Alice had been taken.
When she finished, she came over and took my hand. "Thank you, Edward," she said, smiling.
"Of course, Mom." Her smile widened.
We began walking slowly in the general direction of home.
She'd been thinking about saying something for a while now, but careful to avoid whatever it was she actually wanted to say. Finally, I spoke. "Esme, if you want to tell me something, now would be a prime opportunity."
She sighed. "I know you've taken Alice's disappearance hard, but if it is the Volturi, we need you aware, dearest."
I sighed. Was that all she wanted to say?
"I'll make more of an effort." She smiled again.
"How is Rosalie?" she asked, content that the other subject was closed.
"She's fine. She's very happy to be pregnant when she's not being sick."
"It will get better. Nausea doesn't usually last the whole pregnancy. What about Emmett?"
"He's bored. He can't fight anyone anymore, being human. But he doesn't complain because Rose is happy."
Esme began to say something, but I released her hand and motioned her to be silent.
Someone was within my range. He had his eyes closed, and he was studiously ignoring everything around him. Trying to keep himself from knowing his position. As if he'd been placed there. As if he knew that I was near.
Just one mind. I recognized it: Alec.
"Run," I told Esme. She didn't need me to tell her twice. I stayed by her, even though I knew I could easily pass her; I was much faster than she was.
Only when I saw the white mist did I realize where Alec was. And by the looks of it, he'd been there a while: the mist was swirling everywhere, as far as I could see. I stopped; Esme didn't. She was worried that I'd told her to run because something was wrong at home. She didn't know to watch for Alec or his mist.
She was too far in before I could fix my mistake. I stood, staring where she had disappeared helplessly. Then I turned to go around the mist. It was too late. It had already surrounded me.
With the five seconds I had left, I called Bella. I knew her phone was off, so it went straight to voicemail.
"Alec," I said, before the mist enveloped me completely.
